Title

The Pennapult

Problem Scenario

For my project I will be testing to see how the thickness of a rubber will affect how far a penny will be flung. I will be measuring the distance of the penny in centimeters.

Broad Question

What is the effect of the size of rubber bands toward the distance.

Specific Question

How far will a penny go depending on the size of two rubber bands.

Hypothesis

I hypothesize that the larger the rubber bad is, the further the penny will go.

Graph of Hypothesis

Variables

Independent Variable:

Distance of penny.

Dependent Variable:

Size of rubber band.

Variables That Need To Be Controlled:

Distance: The extent of space between two objects or places; an intervening space. The fact or condition of being apart in space; remoteness

Vocabulary List That Needs Explanation

Tension: The act or process of stretching something tight. The condition of so being stretched; tautness.

General Plan

Ok , so first I needed the proper equipment and safety clothing. After I have been properly equipped with clothing I need the materials. Building the Pennapult took me 1 week to 2 weeks. After I finished I waited 2 days for rubber bands to get brought to my house and a day later I started my tests. I would have 3 trails for each of the rubber bands thicknesses. After all my data is collected I will record it down into a Microsoft Excel Graph.

Potential Problems And Solutions

If I fling a penny in the air and it does not go to a specific distance I will change the rubber band to a thicker rubber band allowing the penny to be a farther distance.

Safety Or Environmental Concerns

One of my main concerns is if the penny ricochets or flings back, so in order to prevent any issues I will have to wear safety glasses.

Experimental Design

Number Of Trials: 3

Number Of Subjects In Each trial:

When data will be collected: After Procedure

Number of Observations: 4

Where will data be collected?: In Compositions notebook.

Resources and Budget Table

Poster Board	Staples	$5.00
Wood	Home Depot	$25.00
Rubber Bands	Staples	$10.00
Door Hinge	Home Depot	$5.00
Penny	In My Pocket	$.01

Background Research

The internal Energy U is a function of temperature. When you stretch a rubber band the rubber band will change temperature. A rubber band will contract if warmed while kept under constant tension.

References

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/tension
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tension_%28physics%29

Detailed Procedure

1) First you will need to buy 3 different sizes of wood.
2) 2 pieces of wood that are 2 feet long and 1 piece of wood that is 6 feet long.
3) Cut one of the 2 foot in half leaving 1 foot to work with then that will be your base.
3) Apply 2, 1 foot pieces of food on the base in the middle and screw in a medal piece to keep it steady.
4) Carefully put 1 door hinge in between the 2, 1 foot wood and screw it in.
5) Put on a piece that is 1 foot long of wood split in half from top to bottom on the hinge.
6) Apply 2 hooks to the 2, 1 foot pieces of wood and the freshly added arm on both sides.
7) Add a bottle cap to your arm.
8) Apply two rubber bands that are the same thickness of the hooks.
9) Place a single penny in the bottle cap.
10) After putting pressure on the arm in a back motion, let go of the arm to allow the penny to fling.
11) Record data and comments in a notebook.

Photo List

Results

The thicker the rubber band is the farther the penny will be flung. All of the rubber bands were the same length the only difference was the thickness. When you have a thicker rubber band to work with the rubber band thicker band will have a lot of pressure when it is drawn back.

All Raw Data

Small	Observations
3.5
3.4	Least far fling
3.5
Medium
6.75	3rd most far fling
6.75
4.1
Large
8	2nd most far fling
6.5
6.5
X Large
15.1
15.5	Most far fling
7

Graphs

Photos

Data Analysis

I analyze that the larger the rubber band is the farther the penny will be flung. The farthest fling the rubber band went was from the X-Large rubber band and it was a total of 15.5 inches. The least far fling was from the small rubber band and that was a total 3.5.

Conclusion

For my conclusion, I noticed that the thicker a rubber band is, the farther the penny will fling making my hypothesis true. The smaller the rubber band happens to be the least amount of distance the penny will go.

Discussion

My Science project was to see how the thickness of a rubber band will effect the distance that a penny can be flung. I had 4 sizes of rubber bands and a large catapult. I built my catapult out of wood and door hinges. I hooked up my two rubber bands that were the same for all 4 sizes.
After I assembled the bands I grabbed flags to mark where all the pennies went. I carefully measured the distance in inches. After the procedure I wrote down all the data in my science notebook. I made an Excel graph after that.

Benefit to Community and/or Science

I would like to benefit towards our school and the community with my Pennapult.

Abstract

For my project I wanted to see if a thicker rubber band will launch a penny off much further than a average rubber band. My result was a success a smaller band can not be flung farther than a larger rubber band. I always wanted to know the problem behind it so I felt like testing this for myself and I have the solution.